House Hunting; Yeah!

So after whining for a few days...and being super impatient; I found a place that is perfect! Its only about 10 minutes from the base in a town called Motta on a cute little street called Via Terre Nere. I have the whole 2nd level of a 3 level complex with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (over 2,500 square feet). But all the places here are super large. I also have a large wrap around porch, all tile flooring (typical Italian style) and gorgeous views. Its located within walking distance of many markets, cafe's, etc...so thats cool and its a safe neighborhood; I already know 3 people from my command who are within 1/2 mile. Here is a link to more pictures via Picasa (click here) which should work. I will sign a contract on 30 Jun and then get the keys 9 July and my HouseHold Goods should arrive 10 Jul. The BOQ isn't terrible, but I am eager to have my own place and my kittens with me. 

Am headed to Rome for the weekend with some girls at work...so it should be fun. I barely know this city yet; yes I know, but I can't pass an opportunity to have a travel buddy or two to explore a new city!

Caio Caio!

House Hunting; Booh!

My journey thus far has been slightly delayed relayed to the jet lag finally catching me and my cold hitting me hard on its way out.  I spent most of the weekend sleeping 10+ hrs and taking naps in the day as well. I did venture out on the autostrada (highway) by myself and my Tom Tom. I will refer to the Tom Tom as my Italian Boyfriend from now on too...Bill is okay with this :) I decided to turn around after realizing there were not many turn offs and I had gone over 30 minutes without seeing anything much other than countryside (which was pretty). This coming weekend I hope to go to either Tauromino or Agrigento which boast oodles of history and culture. The ITT Travel booth I guess you would call it has lots of day trips available for low cost and the events are in groups...so its safe.

Last Friday was a Dining In/Farewell for the XO and it wasn’t too bad. I am of course the newbie, so I didn’t get many of the jokes, but it was entertaining non the less. Saturday we went to an agriturismo, which can range from a bed and breakfast to simply a restaurant that local families own and host people for meals. I was warned to eat light in the day and be ready to eat. We sat down at 7pm and didn’t finish till almost 11pm with several courses; bread first; then cheese, olives, prosciutto, tomatoes; then 2 pasta’s; then meat and potatoes; then salad and finally dessert followed by chello. It was amazing! I just tried a few bites of most everything; and think I did it just right... I didn’t feel uncomfortably full like my peers did. There were people from my floor there and their spouses and some family members as well...it was a good group and I am eager to get to know some of them better. Amazingly enough all the food prepared was by 1-2 people who live on the farm and all the produce and food is from the grounds we ate on (If I was given the correct info). And if you ever see Froop German based yogurt, its amazing.

This week has been filled with checkin in and house hunting. I am eager to find a place to stay; the BOQ isn’t terrible, but I miss my bed and belongings to call my own. I have been unsuccessful at finding a place, but I have been successful at narrowing down certain towns. The whole area lies at the base of Mt. Etna and just the further you get from the Navy base is where the most peaceful, fresh aired places are (such as Nicolsi, Mauraciao, etc...) Though they are at least 30-45 minutes away with horrendous traffic and narrow roads. Tomorrow I will try for the Motta and the Mister Bianco area which is more popular for hospital folk and just 15 minutes. The beach area (called the Aci’s; Acitrella, Acireal, etc...) is gorgeous I have heard, but haven’t been out there yet. Its tough cause in Dec when I pick up LT pay for living; its a 200 euro difference, so I am going to go middle of the road until then and just save later. I don’t get to pocket what I don’t spend here, like in the States. Time will tell; I am simply lucky enough to have 3 full days of searching and most of the city is beautiful; I just have to find “the one” for me. 

Wish me luck in the house hunting and I hope all is well back in the States. I miss Starbucks, Target and Cable TV already! We just get AFN which is a group of 10 channels (on a good day) of repeated Colbert Report, CNN and old Sitcoms...Just enjoy it all for me : ) Ciao!

Arrival!

Caio! I have arrived to Sigonella safely! After just about 24 hours of travel time and having now been here just over 24 hours; I have found myself a computer and am getting a little bit acclimated. 

The travels went well, the kittens did amazingly well and barely made a peep the whole time. I think they were scared shitless, but at least they had each other and I was able to let them walk around and try to use the litter box every few hours. Giving them Benadryl (per vet recommendation) every 8 hours also helped out, though was challenging to give while in the airplane bathroom! They are now settled at a friend’s place who lives out on town (Ramir) and I am going to go visit them later today. 

I am still jet-lagged and long for a full night of uninterrupted sleep. My cold has gotten the best of me and its not budging. I am still coughing and have my ‘man voice’ to full effect.  I was able to get some Sudafed PM to help me out this evening and pray for at least 8 hours. 

The townspeople are a mixed bag; the younger people just say “No!” to every American sounding question or phrase. The older people ask you questions in sentences thinking you speak Italian and get frustrated when you say “No Italiano”. I thought my smile, some hand gestures and body language would get me far with communication, but I was wrong so far. The Italians on base (contract workers) are much, much nicer though. As are the people from the hospital, psd and such that I have met. Everyone is very welcoming. 

My sponsor Dana and another nurse, Hannah, have been so extremely helpful in getting me settled and used to the area. I have already checked in, checked out the hospital, gotten a cell phone and even a car to rent. A little Fiat manual car. Thats been a trip and I have only drove but 1 mile!  At least they drive on the right side of the road here.  I have been told that automatics are a hot commodity and that my Alero will be sold in a heartbeat when it does come time for me to leave...BONUS! I thought it would be toast by the time I was done; it makes me happy to think I will get some money from it. 

Power outages happen daily here, and as I write this its now been out for at least 30 minutes...not terrible...but its very warm here. Breezy and warm, but similar to the California weather I so love. Even have the cool nights for good sleeping. 

So far I have learned many things; island hoppers (old beat up cars), umbrella girls (random hookers on the side of desolate roads), eggs on pizza (surprisingly delicious), alch-o-blows (the nightly breathalyzers everyone gets when coming on base after dark), and that plastic (debit or credit) gets me no where in this town! 

I look forward to more adventures, exploring and the laughs I will give and get from my experiences here and will post pictures when I can; having trouble currently. 

Changes Again!

After many hour of phone calls to find a route that could accommodate my little kittens AND be within the price reasonable for the NAVY; I am now leaving Tuesday, 16 June and arriving in Italy on Wednesday 17 June. Same route, just different day. Phew; disaster diverted. My amazing boyfriend was willing to keep them for me; but I got the pets in validity that I would be the sole person taking care of them; as in not someone else's trouble. So it worked out anyways. Yeah!

Last Minute

Of course some things have popped up during the last few days while in San Diego. I have been extremely lucky for most of my plans to have ran smoothly thus far, but was notified my kittens can't be checked as baggage due to an embargo from 15 May-15 Sept due to temperature controls. Makes sense, but its posed problems with the military since they have scheduled me on flights already having 2 pets on board (limit is 2). Not like I am the first military member to transfer overseas with pets; you know? I have talked to some kind Delta and AirItalia reps who have helped me and after numerous phone calls...I almost a plan...phew! Never woulda thought this is what would be stressing me at the last minute! 

My sponsor; Dana, has been a wonderful aide for me getting settled in Sigonella and I look forward to meeting her and the other people. Its a much smaller command (17 total beds in the hospital) versus where I have worked here at Balboa (200+ beds) so I am interested to see a change in leadership, styles and medicine that this new local will offer me. 

I didn't say it before in my e-mail, but I am not the best writer or the best speller (think I got that from Dad; I love you), so enjoy and get a chuckle if you can :)